Increasing the federal excise tax on cigarettes by 50 cents per pack would eventually increase Medicare and Social Security spending, because smokers would be healthier and live longer, according to a Congressional Budget Office report released Wednesday.

The report found that the tax increase would create short-term deficit reductions. However, by 2085, the costs associated with individuals living longer and consuming more Medicare and Social Security services would outweigh the health benefits and tax revenues, causing the deficit to increase slightly.

If all you are interested in is the fiscal impact on the federal budget, then I guess that is fine. However, as important as the fiscal impacts of any policy are, they cannot answer every important policy question. We need to look at both the benefits and the costs of public policy when deciding what to do.